SATO 2009 Serie A Awards: Coach of the Year

byBrian HallonJuly 3, 2009

Jose Mourinho flat-out knows how to win and he helped Inter do so in 2009/2010. It is more often then not that at season’s end Mourinho has directed his club to at a minimum winning a league title. Mourinho has been so successful managing that he has won a championship in three different competitive leagues.

His first title came in his homeland of Portugal with F.C. Porto. The often outspoken coach won two straight Portuguese Liga titles in 2002/2003 and 2003/2004. In his second successful year, Mourinho steered F.C. Porto to the most coveted trophy in Europe, the UEFA Champions League title. The Portuguese coach would also be honored with the UEFA Manager of the Year Award for his two years with the club.

Following his brief, but great coaching career in Portugal, Mourinho moved to the Premier League and coached the Chelsea Blues to two consecutive Premier League titles. Not only was it the last time a team other then Man U won the title it was also the brilliant coach’s fourth straight championship. In Mourinho’s three years with the club he won five impressive trophies, was named Manager of the Year by the Premier League twice, and the Blues never lost a single league home match during his reign.

So it seems that Mourinho’s arrival last June to Inter is just flat out unfair for everybody else in the league. The fiery coach in his first season with the club dominated the league and irritated many managers on his path. Inter finished the year ten points greater then any other squad, they won a league best twenty-five matches, and Mourinho continued his home unbeaten streak. The coach has not lost a home match for his club in over four seasons. Mourinho has won five league titles in the last seven years of his coaching career.